Bonded (26 page)

“Brandi? What
are you...? You...you shouldn’t be here. You should be with the
others.” Mrs. Channing stuttered nervously while peering into the
backyard.

“I saw you
weren’t at the run and thought you might like some company.” Brandi
moved to step forward but contrary to her past experiences visiting
the house, no move was made to welcome her inside.

“No! It isn’t
safe.” The scent of fear filled the air and Mrs. Channing tried to
close the door but Brandi pushed against the wooden panel, holding
it open.

“It isn’t? Why
not?”

“Because...”
The woman swallowed hard, her eyes darting around as if expecting
an attack any minute. “Because it just isn’t. Please, Brandi, if
not for your own sake, then for mine, just go!” Again she tried to
close the door but Brandi held her ground.

“But, Mrs.
Channing, I don’t understand. What’s the problem? Maybe I can
help.”

“No, child.
It’s not possible.”

Deciding to be
blunt, Brandi stated her suspicions. “Is it the Purists? Are you
being mistreated? I work for Lycan Link and maybe I can help.”

“I...” The
woman hesitated and licked her lips nervously before opening the
door. “All right. But come inside quickly before anyone sees
you.”

“They’re out on
the lunar run. We’re safe.” Brandi offered reassurance as she
stepped inside and followed the woman through the pantry into the
kitchen.

“Not all of
them. They never leave us unguarded for long.”

“Us? Who are
you talking about?”

“Myself and the
others, wolves who mated humans. Our pups.”

A quick glance
around the small kitchen escalated Brandi’s suspicions. There were
no extra dishes waiting to be washed, no homey clutter on any of
the surfaces. “I haven’t seen your girls since I’ve been home.”

Mrs. Channing
shook her head and compressed her lips. “You won’t either. They’re
all working for the pure-bloods and they aren’t allowed out of
their masters’ houses.”

“Masters?” She
raised her brows at the term.

The woman
nodded. “Victor and the males he brought into the pack after taking
over. The halves are their servants, working in their homes or as
unpaid labourers in their businesses.”

“Some of them
are just children!” Brandi looked at her appalled, as she rapidly
calculated the present ages of the pack members in question.

“That’s what I
said, but Victor insists that at fifteen, they’re old enough to
start earning their keep.”

“They should be
going to school, not working!”

Mrs. Channing
shook her head. “No school for the halves. Victor doesn’t believe
in wasting resources on them.”

A sinking
feeling filled Brandi’s stomach. She looked around once more. The
house was neat but had a worn look about it. And it was too quiet.
Beyond themselves the only sound was the faint ticking of the clock
on the wall. “Where’s Mr. Channing?”

“Gone.” The
woman’s voice faltered and she took a deep breath before
continuing. “They took Peter away saying a human had no right to
live with the pack.”

“Is he...?” She
couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

“No. Not yet.”
Mrs. Channing took a shuddering breath and blinked rapidly.
“They’re holding him and the rest in the old jail in the back of
the town hall. The pack’s divided on what to do with them.” The
woman finally broke down and sank into a chair, tears spilling down
her cheeks. “This is my fault. We should have left town. When
Victor started to push to take over, he was ranting on and on about
werewolf purity. Most of the other mixed families left, nervous of
what might happen but I believed in my pack mates. I told Peter
that we’d be safe.”

Brandi nodded
in understanding. No one wanted to believe their family members and
neighbours would turn on them.

“But Victor
challenged for the leadership and Alpha Klaus lost. After that,
things just kept getting worse and worse and when we finally
decided to leave, Victor wouldn’t let us. He said he didn’t want to
be responsible for the ‘scourge’ of half-breeds spreading to other
packs.”

Brandi recalled
Victor from when he’d been pack Beta. The man wasn’t originally
from the area but had joined just before she’d left. Looking back,
she wondered if he’d been driven from his home because of his
beliefs or if he’d purposely chosen the pack because of its remote
location. Klaus had good-naturedly let him in and, impressed with
the man’s knowledge of the Book of the Law, promoted him to Beta
when the position opened up.

Everyone had
been in awe of Victor. He was commanding, eloquent, and had spoken
of great plans for the mines. Given the economic times, the idea of
revitalizing the town had been enough that most had been willing to
overlook his strict views.

“They haven’t
turned on you, though. Have they?”

“I’m allowed to
stay—I wouldn’t leave my family behind anyway—but I’m considered
‘contaminated’ and I’m not supposed to associate with the others.
That’s why you shouldn’t be here. You could be punished.”

Brandi
compressed her lips and shook her head. How could this have
happened in her own community? “I’m not worried. I don’t live here
permanently. And I think I can help you get your family out of
here. I have a friend who specializes in cases like this.”

“Really?” Mrs.
Channing looked up at her with hope-filled eyes. “When I first
heard you were coming for a visit, I wondered if maybe... But
Victor told me to make sure I stayed away from you, or the girls
and Peter would pay the price.” Mrs. Channing bit her lip and wrung
her hands. “You’re sure no one saw you coming here?”

“No one was
around. I checked.” Brandi patted the woman’s shoulder while
inwardly frowning. Had Mrs. Channing said ‘heard she was coming?’
This was supposed to be a surprise visit. Well, perhaps the woman,
in her agitation, had misspoken. And there was no point in
mentioning the strange feeling she’d had of being watched. It was
only a feeling after all. “Everything will work out, Mrs. Channing.
This is part of what I’ve been doing for a living for the past
three years.” She glanced at her watch. “I have to get back before
they notice I’m missing. Just sit tight. By the end of the week,
help should be on its way.”

Taking her
leave of the woman, Brandi slipped out the backdoor and shifted
forms once more, though it took more effort than she’d care to
admit. She moved swiftly down the alleyway, no longer worried about
being quiet. Speed was more important. The pack had started their
run on the edge of town and she wanted to be there when they
returned.

About a half
mile from the field where the pack gathered, Brandi stopped and
slid into the deep shadows cast by a tree. Deciding she was close
enough to the site of the run that she could claim to have finished
early, she shifted again. A wave of dizziness washed over her and
she braced herself against the tree for a moment trying to
re-establish her equilibrium. Shifting so often was draining,
though it shouldn’t be. It was just that her energy levels were low
as of late. She made a mental note that she needed to try to get
more rest.

The rain storm
had moved off and the night was quiet except for the faint rhythmic
chirping of insects and the rustling of grass as it swayed in the
evening breeze. Brandi scented the air but could detect no wolves
or other animals nearby.

Hunkering down,
she pulled out her cell phone and shaded the glow of the screen
with her palm. A twig snapped nearby and she looked up, wondering
if someone had returned early but there was still no sign of
movement, no betraying scent. Her heartbeat sounded loudly in her
ears and she wondered why her nerves were so jumpy. No one had
followed her from town and she was just making a phone call. There
could be no complaint against that.

Taking a steady
breath, she dialled Reno’s number. Even after three years, she
still had it programmed into her cell, though why she wasn’t sure.
She’d often been on the verge of erasing it but had always stopped
before finally pressing delete. Sometimes, she’d wondered why she
was so masochistic as to keep it. Now she was glad she had.

As the phone
rang, she nervously nibbled her lip. Even though they’d parted on
good terms, she still felt strange calling Reno in the middle of
the night.

“’lo?” A deep
voice, husky with sleep answered the phone. Just hearing him speak
had her melting into a puddle of desire.

“Reno?”

He cleared his
throat. “Yeah. Who’s this?”

“Brandi. Brandi
Johansson.” She held her breath, tightening her fingers on the
phone and wondering what he’d say.

“Brandi? What’s
up?’ There was a rustling sound as if he were levering himself up
in bed. She could easily picture him; his wonderfully muscled chest
sprinkled with a light dusting of body hair, the way it formed an
interesting trail down to where the covers pooled about his hips.
Swallowing hard, she tried to concentrate on what she wanted to
say.

“I need you.”
Even as the words left her mouth, she winced.

He chuckled.
Deep and rich and sexy, the sound curled around her causing her
stomach to quiver and goose bumps to rise over her skin. “That’s
what they all say, darlin’. Any particular reason for this sudden
revelation?” The drawl in his voice both aroused and annoyed her
and she fought to keep those feelings from her voice. Now was not
the time to be mooning over the man or to be picking petty
fights!

She bit back
the retort that rose to her lips and continued on. “In a
professional capacity
, Reno. I’m home for a week’s vacation
and I think Victor, the new Alpha, is a Purist. Some of the halves
and their families left town but the few that remain are in
trouble.”

“Specific
rights violations?” His tone became clipped and business-like, the
playfulness of just a moment ago no longer evident. She could
almost picture him sitting bolt upright in bed, his eyes alert, his
mind ticking off the salient facts.

“Oh, yeah.
I—”

A hand suddenly
reached in front of her and took the phone from her, flipping it
shut and ending the call. “Hello, Brandi. I haven’t seen you in
years.”

She looked up
and saw a tall middle-aged man standing over her. He had dull blond
hair and ice blue eyes that seemed to cut right through her. It was
Victor, the new Alpha. Damn!

Slowly, she got
to her feet. The man was just as intimidating now as he’d been last
time she’d seen him and she fought the need to cower at his
feet.

“Hello,
Victor.”

“I’ve been away
on business but I’d heard you were coming home.”

“Not really
‘coming home.’ This is just a short visit.” She felt it wise to
qualify the length of her stay.

“This will
always be your pack, Brandi. And pack is home, the place where your
wolf feels most secure knowing there is an Alpha to provide
guidance and protection.” He stepped closer. His voice was calm and
reasonable, almost hypnotic as he stared intently at her. “That’s
my role. To guide you down the proper path.” Extending his hand, he
slid his finger over the curve of her cheek. “You’ve been away far
too long, Brandi. I sense your inner wolf is discontented,
confused. It’s yearning for stability. The conflict is draining
you, leaving you vulnerable. I think we need to fix that, don’t
you?”

For a moment
she was mesmerized by his voice, by the steadiness of his gaze. The
qualities that made him an Alpha—strength, intelligence,
charisma—pulled at something deep and elemental within her. She
could feel herself falling under his spell and had to force herself
to look away and regain her sense of independence.

“Actually, my
wolf is quite content and fully aware of the fact that Klaus gave
me permission to leave when I went to the Academy.” She spoke with
more bravado than she actually felt. The way he was looking at her
made her nervous, but she lifted her chin and called upon her
training to hide the fact.

“I found no
signed papers officially releasing you from the pack when I went
through his files. Any idea where he might have put them?” He
tilted his head slightly and looked at her inquiringly.

She was silent.
Klaus had never signed relocation papers. It had been a verbal
agreement that she could go to the Academy and work at Lycan Link
with the option to return some day if she so chose. As Beta at the
time, Victor had to have known that.

He gave a tight
smile. “I thought not. It was remiss of him, but beneficial to me.
We need you here, Brandi, as much as your wolf needs to be here. A
strong pack is important and our numbers are not as high as I’d
like them to be.” Unexpectedly, he switched topics. “Who were you
calling?”

“A friend. May
I have my phone back?” She held out her hand but instead of
returning it, he flipped it open and began to search the files.

“And this
friend would be... Reno?” He raised his brows and looked at her.
“That’s the last number dialled.”

“Like I said, a
friend.”

“Reno’s an
unusual name. It wouldn’t be Reno Smith, the infamous
Enforcer?”

She gave a
negligent shrug while rapidly trying to decide the best way to
answer. Unfortunately, her phone started ringing before she came to
any conclusions.

Victor handed
the device over. “For you, I’m sure.”

She hesitated
before taking it from his hand. “Hello.”

“Brandi? Why
the hell did you hang up on me? You call me in the middle of the
night and start to tell me about a group of Purists—”

She interrupted
his tirade and hoped Victor hadn’t heard that last bit. “Reno,
darling. I miss you so much.”

“Darling?” She
could hear the puzzlement in Reno’s voice.

“Yes, it’s hard
for me to be away from you, too. As a matter of fact, I was just
telling Victor that I think I might end my vacation early.”